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Blood and hope in Kurds' Newroz
Kurds mark main annual celebration amid Turkey-Kurdish militias conflict that has killed at least hundreds in North Kurdistan cities · Kurdish movement seeks to cement self-government in Syria's Rojava along other ethnic groups' representatives
According to JINHA news agency, thousands today flocked to Amed waving Union of Kurdistan Communities (KCK) and Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) banners and flags. Those are two of the most important Kurdish organizations, and are outlawed in Turkey.
The People's Democratic Party (HDP, legal in Turkey) called people to mark Newroz despite a ban against the celebration in several cities. Turkish authorities cited security reasons for the ban. Kurds had been able to legally mark Newroz in recent years, with massive attendance.
But this year, only in Istanbul, 208 people who sought to mark the Kurdish national day or to hold demonstrations have been arrested over the last three days, according to Turkish sources. Arrests were also made in Kurdish cities, such as Silopî.
HDP belives the ban is the "result of the oppressive and repressive policies by the AKP government," Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party. HDP recalled that, in the past, Kurds have "celebrated Newroz even under the grimmest, the most oppressive regimes."
Cities are indeed one of the main theatres of operations of the conflict pitting Turkish forces against PKK-linked Kurdish militias, after the breakdown of the ceasefire and peace talks between the two sides in 2015. Since then, city centres such as Amed's or Cizîr's (Cizre) have suffered significant destruction under Turkish artillery fire. Turkish forces claims they have no alternative to fight the militias, which the Turkish government describes as "terrorist organizations" while many in the Kurdish movement consider them freedom fighters.
Turkey has admitted the loss of at least 290 of its soldiers and police officers in the conflict against Kurdish militias since July 2015. Furthermore, authorities say the Turkish forces have killed "thousands" of Kurdish fighters -3.100 of them before the end of 2015.
However, the main PKK-affiliated militia, the HPG, said at the end of last year that 1,600 members of the Turkish forces had been killed, while it admitted the loss of some 220 Kurdish militia members.
As for civilians, data released by the International Crisis Group last week say at least 254 have been killed. Furthermore, it is unknown in a further 163 killed are civilians or militia members. In addition, 355,000 people have been displaced.
New multiethnic federation in West Kurdistan declared
Elsewhere, Newroz is being officially marked in South Kurdistan and West Kurdistan.
In South Kurdistan (Iraq), celebrations are held under an autonomous system of government, largely self-governing from Baghdad, and currently led by president Massoud Barzani.
Celebrations are also ongoing in West Kurdistan (Syria), where all three mainly Kurdish autonomous cantons of Efrîn, Kobanê and Cizîre -self-declared in 2014- plus a handful of representatives of Arab and other ethnic communities last week proclaimed the creation of the Federation of Rojava-North Syria. The Kurdish movement says the Federation should in the end become a largely autonomous federal region within a would-be federal Syria.
Last week a 200-member Constituent Assembly was elected, including representatives of Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians, Armenians, Turkmens and Chechens, i. e. the main communities inhabiting the north of Syria. The Assembly has been given 6 months to draft a Constitution.
The creation of the Federation is opposed by both the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad and most of the opposition, who prefer a unitary state. Turkey opposes it, too.
The US government said it does not recognize the Federation of Rojava-North Syria, but it could in the future if Syrians agree to. Russia meanwhile said some weeks ago that federalism could be a solution to the Syrian conflict.